A surprise day of friends, food and fantastic scenery

We were all set for another day of work around the farm.  If the sun is shining, work is on the agenda for the day.  And then we got a phone call from our friends, "It's a beautiful day.  Do you want to do something fun today?"

Sad to say, we did have to think about it for a couple minutes.  Fun during the week?  Fun when there is work to do?  But then we pushed aside our too-ingrained work ethic, and away we went on our adventure.

Our first stop was lunch at the Duluth Grill in, of all places, Duluth! If you are ever in Duluth, you have to eat at the Duluth Grill.  They stress sustainability in all their menu items so use lots of locally grown or produced food products, and they will have their own gardens and orchards right outside the restaurant.  The menu is huge with all kinds of interesting items--breakfast, lunch and dinner--and we had a hard time deciding.  We did decide that we would have to go back!

Then it was north on I-35 to state highway 61 and up the North Shore.  What a beautiful drive, especially on a sunny day.  Our friends make this trip often, so they know some good stops to make.  Our first stop was Brighton Beach in Kitchi Gami Park, just north of Duluth.  This would be a great place for picnics or just going to the beach.

A little farther north and we arrived at Stoney Point Drive.  They said they often see surfers here on days with the right kinds of waves.

No winds today for surfers, but the blues of the water and sky, and all the greens of all the newly leafed out trees were beautiful to see!

Next stop after passing through the town of Two Harbors was a scenic view of Split Rock Lighthouse. This is one of those favorite spots for visitors to the North Shore to see.  We have a special feeling about it because it is almost directly across the lake from Port Wing.  They don't shine the light on the lighthouse anymore, except on special occasions, but if lit it would be visible from Port Wing.

And then we went a little farther north to Palisade Head, something new for both of Leann and me.  It's just an unassuming little road to the right off 61 and then you go up, up, and up on this narrow, but paved, road where you hope you don't meet anyone coming down!  And then you are in for maybe the best view along the whole North Shore!

That's Shovel Point in Tettegouche State Park off to the northeast.  But this doesn't show how high we are as we look out at the lake.

Again, you can't tell how high we are, but these guys had just finished rappelling and climbing back up the rock wall.

Leann had her camera today, too, and took some photos of the flowers blooming here and there.  This was a blossom on an unidentified tree, but below are the blossoms that will be blueberries later this summer.

And then there was this little chipmunk dashing around our feet.

One more picture of Shovel Point.  Another friend of ours always says that Tettegouche State Park is her favorite place in the world, so we might have to go explore that more sometime.

You can hardly drive along the North Shore and not think about the geological events--glaciers, volcanoes, and more--that occurred over a billion years ago that formed all this beauty.  

One of the two tunnels blasted through the rock along the highway.  

Then after a quick stop at a quilt shop and the Big Dipper ice cream shop, we were on the road back home.

Thanks S & N for getting us out on an adventure!